Abstract:
Auckland’s population has increased significantly in the past ten years and will continue its growth in the future; therefore the Auckland Council’s new unitary plan introduced more medium density zones across the whole of suburban Auckland, shaping a higher density living environment in Auckland. A lack of privacy is one of the most common complaints about higher density housing and the unitary plan will intensify that problem. People have lost sight of the idea that the main feature that differentiates a dwelling from a dormitory or hotel is that a dwelling can provide people with privacy. Therefore it is important to make sure medium density housing development provides sufficient privacy in the home. This thesis analyses the two most typical medium density developments, detached dwellings and terraced housing, focusing on visual and acoustic privacy issues. As both types of dwelling could not provide adequate privacy to the occupants, a further study of international urban housing typologies is carried out. A variety of types of housing is included in the study, such as courtyard housing, the small apartment block, quadruple houses and different types of town house. As these typologies are in very different contexts, cultures or density, all the designs are modified in the context of medium density housing for the contemporary kiwi family. The studies establish the basic idea of what kind of housing can provide an abundant level of privacy ion the home. Then by integrating design elements from different typologies, a project is developed targeting the most efficient design providing home privacy. Both site layout and house design are critical in the project. The circular shape of the lot and the quadruple house layout accomplishes perfect privacy in a medium density housing project.